This invention relates generally to the production of kinescopes and particularly to the verification of the operability of the conveyor line sockets and wiring harnesses used to apply aging voltages to kinescopes.
One of the final steps in the production of kinescopes for color television receivers is that of aging. During the aging process, the filament voltage is applied to the filament and the G2 voltage is applied to the G2 electrode of the kinescope for a set period of time, typically 30 to 90 minutes. The activation of the cathode during the aging process causes the cathode to emit electrons to stabilize the cathode and to enhance the uniformity of the cathodes of the various tubes. Additionally, the electrons emitted from the cathode bombard the G2 and other electrodes thus causing out-gassing to stabilize these electrodes.
Typically, the aging is effected by placing the completed kinescopes on carriers moving along a conveyor line. Each of the carriers includes a socket which is connected to the electrical connector pins of the kinescopes. The aging voltages are applied to the socket by a wiring harness which is electrically coupled to busbars along which the carriers are moved. The bus bars are voltage biased to the aging voltages. Thus the speed and length of the conveyor line are selected to cause each of the completed kinescopes to move along the busbars for the length of time required for complete aging of the kinescope.
Such conveyor line aging is ordinarily satisfactory for the purposes intended. However, problems sometimes arise because the sockets are manually connected to and disconnected from the tubes and also because the sockets are very frequently connected and disconnected. Accordingly, there is a high probability of a socket or wiring harness being damaged by the frequency use. A defective socket or wiring harness can prevent one or more of the operating voltages from being applied to the kinescope and, when this happens, the tube is not properly aged. In the absence of prompt detection of a defective socket, a large number of tubes can be continued through the production cycle without being properly aged.
For these reasons, there is a need for a method for automatically verifying the operability of all the sockets and wiring harnesses used in a kinescope aging line. The instant invention fulfills this long felt need.